Friday, October 31, 2008

Tori asked to see my knitting machine. Well, here it is without a project on it. (you won't get clues for my Christmas projects that easily) It has the capacity to knit up to 130 stitches in one row. I could add on more needles but I would have to buy the units. It is from Bond and is a really good machine. I use it for straight knitting to make my job a little easier. Wait till you see the results. You will have to wait till after Christmas though to see them.

Monday, October 27, 2008

This last Saturday we had a ladies fellowship for the ladies in the church in which we work. I just wanted to share some of the pictures with you as we had a blast. We ate at a small restaurant that serves Brazilian food. It was very good. We are going to be starting a ladies Bible study in January after all the holidays. A lot of our ladies are wives of unsaved husbands, so please pray for the salvation of their husbands. Nina will be teaching the study and I get the privilege of translating. In a way "I can't wait" is said tongue in cheek but in another it is said with all seriousness. I really am looking forward to having the opportunity of translating materials. Being able to share Christ and the victorious Christian life with someone else is like no other feeling on earth.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

For those of you in craft world, you probably are already deep into your Christmas projects. I am knitting most of mine (I am very thankful I have a knitting machine to speed up the process). I will be taking pictures as I go along and then after Christmas I will share them with you. (Some of you are the recipients of these gifts so NO I will not give you a hint.) Christmas will be interesting this year. I am completely away from family this year. The Lord is so gracious to provide for us in the way of friends that are like family when no family is near. If you have a friend or maybe are away from family for the holidays this year yourself, think about who you can share your holiday with and whose life you can touch instead of dwelling on the fact that you are not near family. It helps your holidays to be brighter and will brighten some other person's holidays too. May your holidays be filled with the love of God.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

We have had such a busy week here in Portugal that I haven't shared my news. Last Saturday, (in fact right after I had posted my last blog) I heard the doorbell. My piano had arrived. I was soo excited that I just had to sit right down and play it right then. Here are pictures of it. Let me know what you think. As soon as I can I will try to get some music on the blog of me playing.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Wednesday night I had my first fire in my fireplace. The nights have been cooler and before real cold gets here I wanted to get some experience under my belt so to speak. So, I lit a fire and it went pretty well, as you can see. I didn't realize thought that it would leave a smell in my living room of fireplace. which isn't too bad since I burned eucalyptus wood. Now if I could find some pine, that would really leave a nice smell. If you have some pointers on building fires and keeping them going, please leave a comment as I would really appreciate the advice. Enjoy the fire, I sure did.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I have the cutest niece in the whole world. Of course, I am a wee bit prejudiced. My sister recently sent me some new photos of Sophia so I wanted toshare them with y'all. As you can see from the family photo, she looks like her daddy. I'm betting she will be a daddy's girl when she grows up (and a mommy's girl.) See if you agree with me that she is CUTE!!

She also has the long fingers of a musician (which would make me happy) or an artist(in which case she takes after her mom.) My sister is a good artist if you look at the family portrait you can see one of her paintings in the background.Can't you tell that I love my family!!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

It's a Girl! My niece was born early in the morning of July 27th. Her name is Sophia Ann Evans Bunch and she is a cutie. Of course, I may be a bit prejudiced, but my parents agree with me. The delivery went smoothly with no major problems. Thank you for all your prayers for her safe arrival.

My parents made it safely to Mozambique and are off and running. My mom led a ladies meeting soon after arriving and my father is busy with the institute classes. They have 15 students. They are in good health, but be in prayer for their water pump. It is broken and they have to carry their own water up three flights of steps.

In August, I was able to give the devotion at a baby shower. One of the members of the church I am working at had a baby boy. This was an exciting opportunity to teach in Portuguese. I have also been teaching Sunday school and playing for worship services. We have been studying through Genesis and have started on the life of Abraham. The hardest part for me is to remember the translated names of familiar Bible characters. For example, Isaac in Portuguese is Isaque. (I is said like our long E in English.) Not a large difference but enough for the children to be confused if I say it wrong. I am now getting ready for Christmas. I am directing the children's Christmas program so please pray that all will go well and that we will touch lives with the gospel.

My coworkers are doing well. Mike has been able to preach at least 5 times and has been involved in the mid-week services. Nina is doing better on her language studies. The three oldest girls are in school now and seem to be doing well. The girls have been learning Portuguese over the summer and are now putting it to the test. Pray for them, it is not easy to go to school in a language not your own.

Singing My Praises?

I am a missionary and a missionary kid currently serving in the field of Portugal. My parents were missionaries to Portugal for 17 years, but are now serving in the field of Mozambique. I am a musician and a crafter. I love to sing, play and write songs, knit and sometimes you might even catch me with a crochet hook. I am almost never caught with a cross stitch project. I work with children, teens, music and translation.